Bucket carriage for hoisting towers



6, 194%. H. A. WAGNER ET AL 2,4813% BUCKET CARRIAGE FOR HOISTING TOWERS Filed Dec, 1'7, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6, H. A. WAGNER ET AL 9 2 BUCKET CARRIAGE FOR HOISTING TOWERS Filed Dec. 17, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 6, 1949 UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE BUCKET CARRIAGE FOR HOISTING TOWERS Harold A. Wagner and Gustave H. Wagner, Portland, Qreg.

Application December 17, 1946, Serial No.'716,.fi95

mounted upon a platform or portion of a selfnation with a mobile tower, the tower being mounted upon a self-propelled vehicle so th'atit may be moved from place to place. Although the invention is of particular utility in combination with a self-propelled vehicle, it is to be appreciated that the present invention could comprise a tower adapted to be fixed in location or mounted upon a platform adapted to be moved from place to place by other means than attaching'the tower .to a self-propelled vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a carriage adapted to be hoisted in a tower, which carriage is adapted to have interchangeable material carrying devices associated therewith, the

change from one to another of such devices being easily and quickly accomplished.

A further object of our present invention is to provide a material elevating device including a carriage and a material handling device mounted thereon, the mounting of the material handling device being such that the weight of the device or the material carried thereby holds the device in material carryin position, the mounting being pivotal so that the device may be moved to a dumping or other non-carrying position.

A further object of our present invention is to provide a material hoist including a vertically shiftable hopper into which a bucket or the like may dump material such as moist concrete, the hopper being movable vertically of a tower so as to be positionable at varying heights.

A further object of our present invention is to provide a material hoisting device in which a. material elevating bucket or the like is provided, the bucket being held in material carrying position by the effect of gravity and being shiftable to a dumping position by automatic means comprising a cam thereon, and a cam engaging device associated with a hopper into which the material is to be dumped.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of our present invention will be more readily apparent from inspection of the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a view in side elevatlon of a tower propelled vehicle, the tower having the present invention associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through a portion of the present invention substantially along the line '2--2 of Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially along the broken line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a View in side elevation of a portion of the present invention having another form of material handlin device substituted for the form shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3; and

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the portion of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4.

The invention comprises a vertical tower It in- 'cluding a spaced pair of upright angle bars ll forming the rear corner posts of the tower, and

a spaced pair of upright H-bars l2 forming the front posts of the tower Ill. The bars H and i2 are joined by suitable struts I3 and the bars ll are joined by suitable struts it so as to provide a'three-sided tower. The tower is mounted upon suitable pintles l5 fixed to the upper end of shorter upright posts it mounted at the rear corners of the bed I? of a self-propelled vehicle (not com- It being braced by v or the like but that it is preferably associated with a self-propelled vehicle as above described.

' The lower ends of the bars I I and I2 are preferably joined by side plates 29] forming splash guards, and have associated therewith material conveying chutes as illustrated and claimed in the above mentioned co-pendin application of Harold A. and Gustave H. Wagner, Serial No. 716,- 694, filed con-currently herewith, but since chutes "are not material to the present invention they have not been illustrated and it is to be appreciated that the chutes may be omitted from the tower without departing from our present invention.

The upper ends of the bars II' are preferably provided with extensions 2! forming a portion of a pivoted tower extension 22, the bars l and 2| being connected by pivot means 23. The upper ends of the bars I 2 are preferably abutted against the lower ends of extensions '24 forming a portion of the extension 22. The bars 2! and 24 are suitably joined and braced as indicated in Fig. 1. When the tower portion I6 is pivoted to its horizontal position the extension thereof 22 may be pivoted about the pivots 23 so as to be movable to a position folded back against the bars I I' so that the tower does not occupy too long a horizontal space when the vehicle is moving along the road. When the extension 22 is swung to the position of use as illustrated ears 25 thereon may be latched to top struts 26 of the tower portion I6 by means of pins 21. The tower is partially broken away in Fig. 1 so that the true length thereof is not indicated and the bars I I and I2 may be ofany dethe end of extension 22 provide means to guide a cable 3| about the end of the tower from other suitable guide means (not shown), from which the cable may pass to a winding device such as the engine of a vehicle upon which the tower is mounted. The cable passes downwardly through the hollow section of the tower and is fastened to pintle ears 32 mounted upon the top central portion of a carriage 33. Tension applied to the cable 3| will elevate the carriage 33 within the tower and the release of the cable will cause the carriage to descend to the bottom of the tower under the effect of gravity. The carriage comprises a back plate 35 having its top edge bent thereover to form a strong structural cross brace to which the pintles 32 are attached, having its' sides 36 bent forward, and a bottom portion 31 bent forward to form a partial bottom, the top and bottom portions being welded to the side plates 36. The lower portions of the side plates 36 are extended outwardly beyond the upper por-' being at the top thereof and the wheels 39 being adjacent the bottom. The wheels 38 and 39 are flanged and are adapted to ride upon the opposite surface of the inwardly extending legs of intermediate vertical L-bars 46 extending the length of the tower. The carriage is, therefore, guided for vertical movement in its travel along the tower. The wheels 38 engage the rear surfaces of the flanges of bars 46 and the wheels 39 engage the front surfaces of the flanges of bars 46 so as to provide leverage preventing the carriage from tipping forwardly as weight is applied thereto.

In the use of the present invention as a concrete elevating structure we preferably provide a bucket device 45, including substantially vertical side and end walls, and a rounded bottom. The bucket is pivotally mounted to the forward upper corners of the forwardly extending portions of the side plates 36 by removable means, such as bolts 46, the point of pivotal attachment being forwardly of a vertical plane passing through the center of gravity of the bucket and being spaced upwardly from the bottom surface thereof. The bucket is, therefore, mounted in an off-center relation so that its own weight and the weight of any material contained therein holds the bucket in an upright, material-carrying position with its rear wall engaging the wall 35 of the carriage.

The tower is provided with a hopper 56 of suitable configuration having its bottom and side walls sloping forwardly and downwardly to a chute I of relatively small cross section adapted to be controlled by a pivoted gate 52 having a l mlt the discharge of concrete from the hopper as desired. The rear upper corners of the hopper 56 are provided with pintles 54 adapted to be pivotally supported by brackets 55 extending forwardly from the upper ends of channel members 56 engaged about and slidable longitudinally of the forward flanges of the H-bars I2. Suitable means (not illustrated) are provided for adjustably positioning the hopper 56 at any desired level, such means to be of any suitable nature capable of preventing vertical movement of the members 56 upon the bars I2. The lower portion of the hopper 56 is provided with bars 66 extendmembers 62 pivoted to brackets 63 upon the lower forward surfaces of the members 56, the attachment of bars 66 to members 62 being accomplished at point 64 by removable pins or the like (not shown). Upon detachment of the bars 66 from the members 62 the members 62 may be swung to one side to permit the chute portion of the hopper to pivot inwardly into the hollow tower so that when the tower is lowered to its horizontal position the hopper will not project to any great extent above the upper surface thereof. The hopper is braced in its position of use herein illustrated by suitable means, such as chains 65, extending from the forward upper edges thereof and attached at any suitable point along the tower l6 or the extension 22 thereof in any suitable the hopper without wastage.

fashion,

When the bucket 45 has been filled with a charge of material, such as moist concrete or the like,

the operator elevates the bucket until it is adjacent the hopper. It is desirable to discharge the contents of the bucket at the proper instant so that the complete charge will be dumped into To this end we provide the construction with means for automatically dumping the bucket at the proper instant and for thereafter returning the bucket to its upright position so as to be ready to receive a succeeding charge of material. Such means preferably comprises a cam I6 mounted at one end of the bucket 45, the cam starting at a point substantially in the plane of the forward wall thereof and extending rearwardly. The upper edge of the hopper 56 is provided with an arm II suitably mounted thereon and extending rearwardly toward the posts I2, its free end carrying a cam-engaging roller 12 in position to engage the forward upper corner of the cam 16. Such engagement occurs as the forward lip of the bucket reaches a point slightly above the rear edge of the hopper 56, and the engagement of the roller with the cam causes the center of gravity of the bucket to pass forwardly of the vertical plane through pivot bolts 46. Thereafter the effect of gravity will cause the bucket to rest upon the upper edge of the hopper while pivoting about the bolts 46 and dumping its contents into the hopper. As soon as the carriage has been raised sufficiently to assure that the entire content of the bucket has been dumped the upward travel thereof .is arrested by suitable manual or automatic means, such as illustrated in our Patent No. 2,386,519, issued October 9, 1945, whereupon the operator may release the cable and permit the carriage to descend to the bottom of the tower. The beginning. of the descent of the carriage causes the bucket to pivot about the bolts 46 due to the engagement of the forward surface thereof with the upper edge of the hopper until the cenlever 53 there n for manual en a ement to per- 15 to: of gravity of the bucket passes rearwardly of the vertical plane through the pivot bolts 46 whereupon the bucket will drop back to a vertical position, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The pivot bolts 46 provide means for pivotally attaching to the side plates 36, one at each side of the carriage, a pair of short arms 80 which, when a bucket or the like is mounted upon the carriage, may be retained in out-of-the-way position as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. When the bucket is removed from the carriage the arms 80 may be dropped to the positions illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, so as to extend vertically in depending relation below the cross members 37 and 38. The arms 89 provide means for attaching another form of material carrying device to the carriage, such form being illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 and comprising a spaced pair of H-bars 8i attachable to the arms as as by means of bolts 82. The H-bars 8! have short portions extending rearwardly beneath the cross member 37, and long portions extending forwardly beyond the tower. Cross members, such as wooden beams 83, may be suitably attached between the forwardly extending portions of the bars 86 to provide a platform upon which building stone, brick, cement or the like, or workmen, may be elevated along the tower it].

The rearwardly extending portions of the bars 8! are joined by a cross member 84 in position to abut against the cross member 3?. The greater portion of the weight of the platform is forwardly in off-center relation to its pivotal attachment to the carriage so that the effect of gravity or the weight of the material deposited thereon causes the platform to assume a material-carrying position as illustrated. When it is desired to move the tower the arms 80 may be swung about the pivot bolts so as to cause the platform to occupy a position within the tower. It will be readily apparent that substitution of one form of material-carrying device for another form may be accomplished in a very short space of time.

Having illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of our invention, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention permits of modifications in detail and arrangement. All such modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the appended claims are considered to be a part of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. A hoisting device comprising a tower, a carriage guided for substantially vertical movement thereon, a material conveying platform pivotally mounted on said carriage, the pivotal mounting thereof being at a point spaced from the center of gravity thereof so that the weight of said platform forces said platform to occupy a horizontal, material-conveying position with a portion of said platform held in abutting engagement with a portion of said carriage by the weight of said platform.

2. In a material elevating tower, a carriage com-prising spaced substantially parallel side members, a material conveying device, such as a platform, pivotally mounted upon said side plates and normally extending horizontally forward therefrom, the pivotal mounting thereof being at a point rearwardly of the center of gravity thereof so that the weight of said platform causes the rearward portion thereof to abut against a portion of said carriage to retain said platform in material-conveying position.

3. A material elevating device comprising a substantially vertical tower including guiding members, a carriage comprising spaced side plates, guiding wheels mounted on said plates and engaging said guiding members for guiding the carriage in its travel along the tower, structural members extending between said side members, and a material conveying device pivotally suspended from said carriage, the pivotal mounting thereof being spaced rearwardly from a vertical plane through the center of gravity thereof so that the weight of the device and any object thereon tends to force the device to occupy a material-carrying position with a rearwardly extending portion thereof abutting one of said structural members.

HAROLD A. WAGNER. GUSTAVE H. WAGNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,714,990 Schmid May 28, 1929 1,870,962 Oldroyd Aug. 9, 1932 1,909,379 Sangers May 16, 1933 2,327,476 Wagner et a1. Aug. 24, 1943 2,327,477 Wagner Aug. 24, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 40,071 Norway Oct. 27. 1924 

